Woman fears scam after Lantern Festival cancelled

Alice Finn had bought tickets as a birthday present for her mum

A young woman has said she feels foolish and fears she won't get a refund after a Lantern Festival event in Birmingham was cancelled.

The festival - which has been dogged by claims it is a scam - was due to take place on 1 June but customers were told just a week before it had been called of.

Alice Finn, from Nottingham, bought tickets as a birthday gift for her mum but now says she feels "stupid" for potentially falling for the scam.

Lantern Festival UK has not directly commented on her case, but said customers have been told a second event scheduled in the region for 13 July will now take place at a venue in Dudley.

The festival's website says a further date at a different Birmingham venue, on 13 July, is sold out and there are further dates listed in London and Glasgow

The original 1 June date had been postponed because of forecasts of thunderstorms, the firm said.

In April, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute confirmed it had begun an investigation, after social media speculation about the legitimacy of the festivals.

The BBC has further contacted the institute about the status of its inquiries.

'Something dodgy'

Ms Finn now says she feels "stupid" for believing the festival would take place following accusations on social media that the event was a “scam”.

The 19-year-old says she has lost hope the event will take place and questions the legitimacy of the festival.

“I think something dodgy is going on with it," she said.

"I look back now and feel foolish for falling for it because it just seems obvious now.”

Kingswinford Rugby Football Club has confirmed that the event next month is due to take place on it's grounds, which falls under the jurisdiction of South Staffordshire Council.

A spokesperson confirmed the authority was aware of the event taking place in July.

"[But] as an authority, we don’t have any statutory powers to prevent an event from taking place,” they added.